A continually strong stock market performance despite rising interest rates and slowing economic growth has 17 percent of money managers saying U.S. stocks are overvalued.

According to Russell Investment Group’s quarterly Investment Manager Outlook, this is the highest level in the survey’s three-year history, rising from 13 percent in the first quarter and 8 percent a year ago.

Some managers also suggest the current nearly five-year-old bull market is showing signs of slowing down. Only 7 percent of those surveyed believe U.S. stocks will gain at least 5 percent over the next three months, while 45 percent anticipate that stocks will be flat or fall.

Russell Investment Group, a unit of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., which researches and selects money managers for investors, surveyed 353 money managers about their stock-market predictions.

They also surveyed Australian investment managers and found that more than 55 percent of them believe the Australian domestic market is overvalued as well. The investment managers feel the increase in private equity deals is primarily responsible for pushing stocks beyond their worth in Australia.

The debate over stock valuations is nothing new, but it is important to note the number of money managers who think that they are overvalued is growing. With so many contradicting opinions about what is going on in the U.S. stock market and economy, it is hard to know for certain what the immediate future has in store for investors. However, Bible prophecy gives a fair warning about a coming financial storm.